No, seriously, if I could do a cart-wheel, I’d be doing one now! This week I signed a publishing contract to publish Anything You Ask of Me (formerly and lovingly known as Manuscript) with Knox Robinson Publishing. KRP specializes in historical fiction which is, in a word, phenomenal.

Here’s how it all went down:

I was sitting at my desk at work, working. Probably working. Anyway, my email account is hooked into my cellphone and, look, I get a lot of junk emails. $20 off a $300 turtleneck purchase at this store. Buy seven pairs of flip-flops, get one free at that store. I spend half my life deleting junk emails.

So, when I settled down to enjoy my peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I nearly choked when I read, “We would like to offer you a contract.”

And then I sat very, very still and got very, very excited. Which, randomly, resulted in a lot of sweating.

Once I signed the contract, two things happened:

The Hubs and I drank that bottle of wine we’d be saving for this exact occasion

I bought my domain name because the wine was really strong and it seemed like an appropriate thing to do.

So here we are. The rejected writer is now the accepted writer.

Can I just say, though, that I owe my beta readers a cobbler or potted plant or something because, guys: I may have the best beta readers on the planet. Jen, Smith, Sasha, and Lindsey–you guys rock!

Since the contract is so newly signed, I have no production timeframes or release date or anything yet. The journey is just beginning. I have, however, written my biography and taken a picture of my face for the website. I’m critical when it comes to pictures of myself. Okay, maybe not so much here on The Rambling Jour. But this time, it took like, an hour and a half of debate and texting options to The Hubs for his opinion (“You look the same in all of these”).

The bio…well, the bio was substantially more difficult. I mean, look at my “About Me” page here. I draw a blank when I write about myself. I’m Heather. I like peanut butter ice cream. I don’t like the color yellow. I’m an eternal pessimist trying to become an optimist and it’s just coming across as sarcasm. I have a tendency to break out into song and/or dance at random times.

This, a professional bio does not make.

So, now I have a professional bio, an author picture, and my very own domain name. And a book on the way.

It was kind of like that moment when I was pregnant with our first baby and we bought the diaper bag. I remember looking at the diaper bag and thinking, “Wow. This is real.”

On a side note: we never actually used that diaper bag. We always used–and still use–the free one from the hospital. No, this really doesn’t have anything to do with the topic of this blog. But…well, I’m sure I’ll use my domain name and professional bio/picture more than the aforementioned diaper bag.

Moving on.

So, here we are. I’m working on my next novel (Manuscript II). Actually, truth be told, I’m sitting here watching The Great Escape thinking how this is one of the most depressing movies ever made and simultaneously pondering if the advertised TV show “Amish Mafia” can actually be real. There’s no way.

Seriously. Another “Amish Mafia” commercial. Is that one guy holding a mace? Really? See, this is why my next novel is still on chapter four. I’m too busy questioning if a legitimate mafia in 2013 arms themselves with medieval weaponry. Amish or not.

Thank you so much! It was an awesome experience: I wanted to take a picture of myself signing…but I was alone and at work….and the picture just looked like I was alone. And at work. Lol. Can’t wait to the adventure to begin!

The editor assigned to me from my publishing company helped me shape my bio. Maybe yours will too? I wouldn’t stress about it too much, though. Just continue to soak up that bliss of finally putting pen to paper! :)

Thanks Lindsey! Yeah, I’m not to worried about the bio. I’ll be the first to admit, I’m as bland and boring as boiled oatmeal. I’m more worried about the photo I went with. Secretly, I wish I’d had an early 90s Glamor Shot to submit. That would have been phenomenal!!

Thanks Darlene! I am so excited for you to finally get to read it. Maybe Hemingway’s house brought me good mojo after all? Seriously, I’m so excited! Upon further review, I think my author photo has a bit of “crazy” in the eye, but I guess anyone who knows me won’t be surprised!

Thank you so much—and congratulations to you, too! It’s a great feeling! I’m thinking it’s time to get the next bottle of wine ready for my eventual release party. Maybe a different brand though, because yikes. That stuff was brutal.

Congratulations again. :-) (You can never have too many congratulations!)
Don’t worry about the oatmeal. Or the bio. Oatmeal’s pretty interesting if prepared the right way, and the same applies to author bios.

I don’t mind being mediocre, with occasional spouts of drama and awesomeness. Like at Gettysburg for example. So…I’m more like boiled oatmeal with a sprinkling of chocolate and butterscotch chips. I realize that’s really specific. That’s how I like my boiled oatmeal.

Thank you so much! I feel like Hard Work: Part A is over and Hard Work: Part B is just beginning! So far—and we’re only a few days into it—it’s been an exciting adventure. I’m looking forward to the rest!